Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-9. Disclosures to owners
(a) The provider or broker shall provide in writing, in a separate document that is signed by the owner, the following information to the owner no later than the date of application for a life settlement contract:
(1) The fact that possible alternatives to life settlement contracts exist, including, but not limited to, accelerated benefits offered by the issuer of the life insurance policy;
(2) The fact that some or all of the proceeds of a life settlement contract may be taxable and that assistance should be sought from a professional tax advisor;
(3) The fact that the proceeds from a life settlement contract could be subject to the claims of creditors;
(4) The fact that receipt of proceeds from a life settlement contract may adversely affect the recipients’ eligibility for public assistance or other government benefits or entitlements and that advice should be obtained from the appropriate agencies;
(5) The fact that the owner has a right to terminate a life settlement contract within fifteen (15) days of the date it is executed by all parties and the owner has received the disclosures contained herein. Rescission, if exercised by the owner, is effective only if both notice of the rescission is given, and the owner repays all proceeds and any premiums, loans, and loan interest paid on account of the provider within the rescission period. If the insured dies during the rescission period, the contract shall be deemed to have been rescinded subject to repayment by the owner or the owner’s estate of all proceeds and any premiums, loans, and loan interest to the provider;
(6) The fact that proceeds will be sent to the owner within three (3) business days after the provider has received the insurer or group administrator’s acknowledgement that ownership of the policy or interest in the certificate has been transferred and the beneficiary has been designated in accordance with the terms of the life settlement contract;
(7) The fact that entering into a life settlement contract may cause other rights or benefits, including conversion rights and waiver of premium benefits that may exist under the policy or certificate of a group policy to be forfeited by the owner and that assistance should be sought from a professional financial advisor;
(8) The date by which the funds will be available to the owner and the transmitter of the funds;
(9) The fact that the commissioner shall require delivery of a buyer’s guide or a similar consumer advisory package in the form prescribed by the commissioner to owners during the solicitation process;
(10) The disclosure document shall contain the following language: “All medical, financial, or personal information solicited or obtained by a provider or broker about an insured, including the insured’s identity or the identity of family members, a spouse, or a significant other, may be disclosed as necessary to effect the life settlement contract between the owner and provider. If you are asked to provide this information, you will be asked to consent to the disclosure. The information may be provided to someone who buys the policy or provides funds for the purchase. You may be asked to renew your permission to share information every two (2) years”;
(11) The fact that the commissioner shall require providers and brokers to print separate signed fraud warnings on their applications and on their life settlement contracts as follows:
(11) “Any person who knowingly presents false information in an application for insurance or life settlement contract is guilty of a crime and may be subject to fines and confinement in prison.”
(12) The fact that the insured may be contacted by either the provider or its authorized representative for the purpose of determining the insured’s health status or to verify the insured’s address. This contact is limited to once every three (3) months if the insured has a life expectancy of more than one year, and no more than once per month if the insured has a life expectancy of one year or less;
(13) The affiliation, if any, between the provider and the issuer of the insurance policy to be settled;
(14) That a broker represents exclusively the owner, and not the insurer or the provider or any other person, and owes a fiduciary duty to the owner, including a duty to act according to the owner’s instructions and in the best interest of the owner;
(15) The document shall include the name, address, and telephone number of the provider;
(16) The name, business address, and telephone number of the independent third-party escrow agent, and the fact that the owner may inspect or receive copies of the relevant escrow or trust agreements or documents; and
(17) The fact that a change of ownership could in the future limit the insured’s ability to purchase future insurance on the insured’s life because there is a limit to how much coverage insurers will issue on one life.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-9
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Broker: means a person who, on behalf of an owner and for a fee, commission or other valuable consideration, offers or attempts to negotiate life settlement contracts between an owner and provider. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-2
- Commissioner: means the director of the department of business regulation or his or her designee. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
- Insured: means the person covered under the policy being considered for sale in a life settlement contract. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-2
- Life expectancy: means the arithmetic mean of the number of months the insured under the life insurance policy to be settled can be expected to live as determined by a life expectancy company provider, broker, or financing entity considering medical records and appropriate experiential data. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-2
- Life settlement contract: means a written agreement entered into between a provider and an owner, establishing the terms under which compensation or any thing of value will be paid, which compensation or thing of value is less than the expected death benefit of the insurance policy or certificate, in return for the owner's assignment, transfer, sale, devise, or bequest of the death benefit or any portion of an insurance policy or certificate of insurance for compensation; provided, however, that the minimum value for a life settlement contract shall be greater than a cash surrender value or accelerated death benefit available at the time of an application for a life settlement contract. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-2
- Owner: means the owner of a life insurance policy or a certificate holder under a group policy, with or without a terminal illness, who enters or seeks to enter into a life settlement contract. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-2
- Person: means any natural person or legal entity including, but not limited to, a partnership, limited liability company, association, trust, or corporation. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-2
- Policy: means an individual or group policy, group certificate, contract, or arrangement of life insurance owned by a resident of this state, regardless of whether delivered or issued for delivery in this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-2
- Provider: means a person, other than an owner, who enters into or effectuates a life settlement contract with an owner. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-72-2
- Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
(b) The written disclosures shall be conspicuously displayed in any life settlement contract furnished to the owner by a provider including any affiliations or contractual arrangements between the provider and the broker.
(c) A broker shall provide the owner and the provider with at least the following disclosures no later than the date the life settlement contract is signed by all parties. The disclosures shall be conspicuously displayed in the life settlement contract or in a separate document signed by the owner and provide the following information:
(1) The name, business address, and telephone number of the broker;
(2) A full, complete, and accurate description of all the offers, counter-offers, acceptances, and rejections relating to the proposed life settlement contract;
(3) A written disclosure of any affiliations or contractual arrangements between the broker and any person making an offer in connection with the proposed life settlement contracts;
(4) The name of each broker who receives compensation and the amount of compensation received by that broker, which compensation includes anything of value paid or given to the broker in connection with the life settlement contract;
(5) A complete reconciliation of the gross offer or bid by the provider to the net amount of proceeds or value to be received by the owner. For the purpose of this section, gross offer or bid shall mean the total amount or value offered by the provider for the purchase of one or more life insurance policies, inclusive of commissions and fees; and
(6) The failure to provide the disclosures or rights described in this section shall be deemed an unfair trade practice pursuant to § 27-72-17.
History of Section.
P.L. 2009, ch. 195, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 262, § 1.